The Queen’s 92nd Birthday Party in Hong Kong: Celebrating 100 years of women's suffrage
British Consulate-General in Hong Kong marked The Queen’s 92nd birthday with a celebration of the 100-year anniversary of the Representation of the People Act.
On Friday 8 June, Consul-General to Hong Kong and Macao Mr Andrew Heyn and his wife Mrs Jane Heyn hosted the annual Queen’s Birthday Party in Hong Kong to celebrate the 92nd Birthday of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. The Consul-General was delighted to welcome Guests of Honour His Royal Highness The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Mrs Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as well as guests from business, government, civil society and education.
HRH The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and The Hon Mrs Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of the HKSAR, were the Guests of Honour for the night.
2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the Representation of the People Act which gave women the right to vote in the UK for the first time. The UK government is marking this historic moment with a programme of activities to celebrate 100 years of women’s suffrage, educate young people about its significance, and encourage more women to participate in public life so that they have an equal voice in the decisions that affect them.
Inspired by this anniversary, the theme of this year’s Queen’s Birthday Party was equality. A timeline of important milestones in Britain’s journey to equality – from the Race Discrimination Act in 1976, to the formation of the first women’s Rugby League in 1983, and the introduction of same sex marriages in 2013 – were displayed at the party. Guests were also invited to view an exhibition of photos, newspaper articles and posters from 1900 to 1920 and a slide show celebrating the achievements over the past 100 years of trailblazing women in all sectors of society.
The Consul-General told guests that it was a good time to celebrate how far the UK and Hong Kong had come since the Representation of the People Act first extended the franchise to women in 1918, but that we still had further to go.
He added:
Society in the UK has changed a great deal since then. Since that milestone there were many others trying to ensure equal treatment for people, irrespective of race, sexuality, gender and many other cases where people have been under-represented. We have taken these steps not just because it is the right thing to do, but because harnessing a nation’s diversity is essential for a country to thrive and to be prosperous. And part of the reason that the UK is the world’s 5th largest economy is down to that diversity and of talent and the international partnerships and the international talent become the UK.
Watch highlights from the day’s celebrations:
Queen’s Birthday Party in Hong Kong 2018
Further information
Follow the British Consulate-General Hong Kong on Facebook and twitter @UKinHongKong
Updates to this page
Last updated 20 June 2018 + show all updates
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We have added the highlights video to the article.
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First published.